heartland - November 04 2024

1. Kansas GOP See a Surge in Advance Voting
2. Kansas Supermajority at Stake as Johnson and Sedgwick Counties Report Record Turnout
3. Latinos in Southwest Kansas Seek Political Power Amid Low Voter Turnout
4. First US Case of H5N1 in a Pig Raises Alarm
5. Turnover Expected on House Agriculture Committee
6. Sports
Central KS Restaurants / Renaissance Café, Assaria, Kansas

1. Kansas GOP See a Surge in Advance Voting

Kansas Republican Party chairman Mike Brown touted preliminary evidence the state’s GOP voters were matching the advance-voting operation typically relied on by Democrats to boost turnout. Brown, chosen state party chairman after losing the 2022 primary for secretary of state on an election-integrity platform, said on Friday at the Capitol that Kansas voters responded to former President Donald Trump’s plea for his supporters to vote in advance of Election Day on Tuesday. “We’re seeing it everywhere. The turnout is huge,” Brown said during a pitstop on the Kansas GOP’s bus tour. “At this point, I will say, as a Republican and chairman of the party, I’m very proud of the fact that we rose to the challenge. We spent a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of resources to make sure that people took it to heart.” The approach stood in contrast to the election cycle in 2020, when Trump asked Republicans to turn their back on advance voting due to questions about election security.  Trump is expected to carry Kansas after taking the state by 20.4 percentage points in 2016 and 14.6 percentage points in 2020.

Article Source: KS Reflector

2. Kansas Supermajority at Stake as Johnson and Sedgwick Counties Report Record Turnout

Republicans want to keep the state's Republican supermajority while Democrats want to break it. Johnson County is where they have the best chance to do so which is why the Get Out the Vote action is heaviest there from both parties. That's also why Johnson County is seeing record voter turnout with more than 200,000 people having cast their ballot early as of Sunday night.  Sedgwick County is also seeing records for early in-person voting this year with over a 35% turnout. "I'm still projecting we're gonna get to seventy percent but we're prepared," said Sedgwick County election commissioner Laura Rainwater

Article Source: KAKE

3. Latinos in Southwest Kansas Seek Political Power Amid Low Voter Turnout

Southwest Kansas breaks rural stereotypes by being quite diverse. The most populated towns in the region are more Latino than other ethnicities. Finney County is 51% Latino, Ford County is 57%, according to Census Data. And although citizenship rates are slightly lower than the national average, the rates of citizenship in these counties are growing, and more than 80% of adult residents are citizens and eligible to vote. But, despite being the fastest-growing ethnic group in Kansas, Latinos still lack political power, even where they are the majority. Latinos are underrepresented in local governments and have low to average rates of voter registration and some of the lowest rates of voter turnout. For example, Ellis County, a predominantly white county with a similar population of Seward County, had a voter turnout of about 50% in 2022. Seward County, on the other hand, had only 27%.

Article Source: KMUW

4. First US Case of H5N1 in a Pig Raises Alarm

A pig tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu for the first time in the US, government officials said, a feared development that could help the virus further evolve and put humans at risk. The infection was confirmed in a pig kept on a backyard farm in Crook County, Oregon, the US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. US health officials have worried that the virus, already spreading in birds and cattle, would jump into swine. Pigs have long been considered mixing vessels where flu viruses from humans and birds can exchange genes. The concern is that such hybrid, or reassortant, pathogens can emerge with characteristics that allow them to infect humans more easily.

Article Source: Bloomberg

5. Turnover Expected on House Agriculture Committee

One-fourth of the members of the House Agriculture Committee are in tight re-election races, according to political handicappers, a factor in the likely upheaval of the committee roster in 2025. Turnover is a fact of life on the committee — only half of its current members served on the panel two years ago.  Representatives routinely change committees as they gain House seniority and try to align their assignments with the makeup of their districts. The “churn” in membership could slow committee work temporarily. Agriculture Committee leaders often speak of the need to educate newcomers to the complexity and scope of the farm bill, sure to lead their agenda in January if there is no agreement during the lame duck session opening next week.  While most Americans live in town, rural districts are expected to play a prominent role in deciding whether Republicans will continue to control the House or if Democrats will have a majority. Thirteen of the 43 most competitive races involve House Agriculture Committee members.

Article Source: Successful Farming

6. Sports

KSU 19 HOU 24 

OKC 137 Portland 114 

OKC 105 LAC 92  

Tonight  

Chiefs v Bucs 

OKC v Orlando    

WSU vs WKU  

KSU football falls 5 to #22 in AP poll  

#1 ranked KU basketball begins tonight against Howard 

KSU women begin season ranked #13

Central KS Restaurants / Renaissance Café, Assaria, Kansas

We headed north on Interstate 135 toward Salina, bound for Assaria. Along the way, we rekindled a long-running debate in our household: how exactly do you pronounce "Assaria"? Should it be like “Syria”, or does it rhyme with "diarrhea"? The question lingered as we arrived at the Renaissance Café after a quick 20-minute drive. The café is easily one of the most unique restaurants I’ve ever visited. Housed in a New Deal-era school building, you pass through a small cottage that transitions into the old school. Inside, the Renaissance Café is decorated with a collection of political paraphernalia, including campaign buttons from Barry Goldwater, Ross Perot, and other mid-twentieth century campaigns. To steer clear of social unrest, the café’s collection intentionally stops at the 2004 election. You won’t find anything more recent than Bush and Kerry here. 
 
The hostess—who also happened to be our waitress and, the Chef—led us through a common area and up toward a balcony overlooking an old basketball auditorium. Despite the expansive gymnasium, the setting in the auditorium felt surprisingly intimate. From our vantage point on the balcony, we could see a stack of plastic tables and chairs down on the court, hinting at the venue’s versatility. The Renaissance Café occasionally transforms for large gatherings like weddings and parties, filling the spacious gym. The walls were adorned with what I estimate to be hundreds of photographs of historical figures. We dined under the gaze of John Stuart Mill and Martin Luther. 
 
As usual, dad ordered a Liberty Rose beer from McPherson’s Three Rings Brewery and we started our meal with a plate of excellent crab cakes. For salads, mom and I opted for the fresh arugula, while dad went with a Grilled Caesar. When it came to entrees, I enjoyed a 12-ounce ribeye, medium. To my surprise (I‘ve previously expressed my reservations about ordering seafood in the heart of America), dad had sea bass. My mom rounded out the meal with Chicken Caprese. Each dish was excellent, even the fish (flown in fresh from Hawaii that day). We almost left without dessert, but our waitress overheard our indecision and insisted we try something. I opted for the crème brûlée, while my parents shared a dish named "Mt. Fudgy." The crème brûlée was wonderful, with a perfectly crisp caramelized top. Mt. Fudgy, though less mountainous than expected, was rich and cholate-filled—a satisfying finish to our meal.
 
As we left Assaria, my mom informed us that she was nearly out of gas. Fortunately, we quickly found a small station called Assaria Oil and Hardware, though it was an unconventional setup: just two pumps with no place to pay on-site. After a bit of searching, we realized the convenience store was actually located across the street from the pumps. We returned to McPherson with full stomachs and a full tank of gasoline.

Sources

1. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/11/02/kansas-republicans-welcome-surge-in-advance-voting-after-adopting-democratic-party-tactic/

2. https://www.kake.com/home/kansas-democrats-and-republicans-battle-for-supermajority-as-election-day-looms/article_bfc81ad8-9a4e-11ef-9404-5f77a1889c4a.html

3. https://www.kmuw.org/2024-10-29/latinos-have-roots-in-southwest-kansas-but-low-voter-turnout-these-women-want-to-change-that

4. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-30/us-spots-first-h5n1-case-in-a-pig-raising-concern-for-humans

5. https://www.agriculture.com/turnover-is-certain-on-house-agriculture-roster-elections-will-determine-its-scale-8738947?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202024-11-04%20Agriculture%20Dive%20%5Bissue:67497%5D&utm_term=Agriculture%20Dive